http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/oct/08/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-now-opposes-trans-pacific-partners/
[…]
We thought we should take a
look back and see how Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
has evolved. She has addressed the trade deal on a number of occasions since
official negotiations started in 2010 (CNN
counted at least 45 comments), so we’ll note her most representative
remarks in chronological order.
Sept.
8, 2010, remarks to the Council on Foreign Relations: "We want to
realize the benefits from greater economic integration. In order to do that, we
have to be willing to play. To this end ... we're pursuing a regional agreement
with the nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and we know that that will
help create new jobs and opportunities here at home."
March
9, 2011, remarks at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum: "The
United States is also making important progress on the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, which will bring together nine APEC economies in a cutting-edge,
next generation trade deal, one that aims to eliminate all trade tariffs by
2015 while improving supply change, saving energy, enhancing business practices
both through information technology and green technologies."
July
8, 2012, remarks with a Japanese official: "The United States welcomes
Japan's interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which we think will connect
economies throughout the region, making trade and investment easier, spurring
exports, creating jobs."
Nov.
5, 2012, remarks in Australia: "This TPP sets the gold standard in
trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment
that has the rule of law and a level playing field. And when negotiated, this
agreement will cover 40 percent of the world's total trade and build in strong
protections for workers and the environment."
July
2014, in her memoir Hard
Choices: "Because TPP negotiations are still ongoing, it makes sense
to reserve judgment until we can evaluate the final proposed agreement. It’s
safe to say the TPP won’t be perfect -- no deal negotiated among a dozen
countries ever will be -- but its higher standards, if implemented and
enforced, should benefit American businesses and workers… The TPP became the economic
pillar of our strategy in Asia."
May
22, 2015, at a press conference in New Hampshire: "I've been for trade
agreements, I've been against trade agreements, voted for some, voted against
others, so I want to judge this when I see exactly what exactly is in it and
whether or not I think it meets my standards," adding she had some "concerns"
about the TPP.
There is an obvious difference
in tenor between Clinton’s remarks as a member of the Obama administration and
today as a presidential candidate. Across the whole time period, she has said
details needed to be hammered out, and they had to meet certain standards. But
her comments were more positive on the whole from 2010-13 than they have been
recently.
Here are some of the words she
used to describe the TPP before she left the State Department in 2013:
"exciting," "innovative," "ambitious," "groundbreaking,"
"cutting-edge," "high-quality," "high-standard"
and "gold standard." She also publicly encouraged more nations to get
involved, such as Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia, and she expressed
hope that the negotiations would wrap up by the end of 2012.
As a presidential candidate
she has used more hedging language, for example saying she has "some
concerns," and now she has said she outright doesn’t support the deal as
it stands.
While some pundits have
painted Clinton’s transition as political -- an appeal to liberals who oppose
the deal -- she might have legitimately changed her mind. It’s possible the
deal looks dramatically different than it did at the early stages of
negotiations, when Clinton was at the State Department. The negotiations have
been conducted in secret, so it’s hard for us to assess that ourselves. Also,
as secretary of state, she represented the Obama administration, which remains wholeheartedly
in favor of the deal.
"I still believe in the
goal of a strong and fair trade agreement in the Pacific as part of a broader
strategy both at home and abroad, just as I did when I was secretary of
state," Clinton said in an Oct. 7 statement. "I appreciate the hard
work that President Obama and his team put into this process and recognize the
strides they made. But the bar here is very high and, based on what I have
seen, I don't believe this agreement has met it."
It’s up to voters to decide how
they feel about her changed stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but we
rate Clinton’s reversal as a Full Flop.
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